


Beacon of Hope

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Harley copes badly, Leo is in So Much Trouble when he gets back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 12:10:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: Harley isn’t dealing with Leo’s disappearance well. Nyssa tries to convince him to stop working for a little while.





	Beacon of Hope

"Harley," Nyssa called, entering the dim bunker cautiously, "It's dinnertime. You’re not skipping again." She heard a rhythmic clanging sound and followed it, finding her little brother exactly where she’d left him last night, after he’d promised her that he’d get some sleep, “Harley, did you go to bed last night?”

"I had to keep working on this." Harley said with a shake of his head, his bleary eyes never straying from the in-progress beacon that would hopefully bring their lost brother home, “I’m almost done.”

"Harley, you can’t just not sleep. You need to take a break every now and then." she insisted, frowning when he ignored her. She felt something twist in her gut at the intense focus in his red-rimmed eyes, how he kept working despite his hands shaking.

"No, not yet. I'm so close." he insisted, “Just a few more days. Less if I don’t sleep.”

“You need to sleep.” Nyssa chided, taking a step closer, “And you need to eat.”

“Leo didn’t sleep or eat when he was building the Argo II.” Harley refused to back down, hitting a nail in with a little more force than necessary. Nyssa tried not to get frustrated, tried to remember that he was coping with the loss of his favorite sibling, taking it worse than any of their other siblings.

"And it was awful for him and for us, remember? Harley-" she sighed, but Harley made a sound of frustration.

"I'll sleep when he's home." be declared stubbornly, determined to finish his job regardless of the toll on his body. He really was Leo's brother.

"If you pass out from sleep deprivation, who will work on the beacon?" she tried a different approach. It seemed to work, as the question made him pause for a second, and she finally noticed the slight trembling of his shoulders, the way his chin wobbled almost imperceptibly.

"You." he finally answered, "You could work on it until I wake up, and then I could get back to work." Nyssa sighed, reaching out and plucking the hammer from his hand.

"I think if Leo were here, he would be very angry to see you not taking care of yourself.” she said gently, setting it out of his reach. Harley seemed stricken by this, and his control began to truly falter.

“He’d understand! He doesn’t like to sleep either!” he defended, “He doesn’t need breaks, and everything he makes is perfect. If he does it, why can’t I?”

“We don’t like when he doesn’t sleep, remember?” Nyssa said quietly, “We always try to make him take breaks. How often have you had to force him to eat? Remember how worried you’d get when he’d lock himself in here for days? Harley, I know you miss him, but making yourself sick won’t help. It’ll only make things worse.” Her words seemed to have some effect in him, as his shoulders slumped.

"I... I just want Leo back." he admitted with a small sniffle, "I want Leo."

"I know." Nyssa's heart ached for him as she drew him to her for a hug, “I do too.”

"He’s all alone right now.” he was trying so hard to stay strong even as he buried his face into her stomach. It broke Nyssa’s heart, “He’s alone and probably scared and thinking bad things about himself. What if a monster gets him? What if burns up again? He needs to come back quickly so we can protect him. I have to finish the beacon as fast as I can so he’ll be safe with us.”

"We'll get it up and running.” Nyssa assured him, smoothing his hair back, “And he'll come running back, you’ll see. You just need to take care of yourself so you’re coherent when he gets here. A bike won’t ride properly if one of the wheels is out of alignment.”

“So it’s like maintenance?” Harley asked, “Make sure all the parts are in good working order so nothing gets broken?”

“Exactly.” Nyssa couldn’t help but laugh, “Keep the machine well oiled and it’ll work much better. Just think; would you rather the project take an extra day because you slept, or have the project go up in flames because your exhausted mind miscalculated something?” Harley seemed to think about that, squeezing her tighter as she waited for his response.

“Okay.” he finally gave in, “I’ll come eat something. And take a quick nap.”

“Thank you.” Nyssa withheld her sigh of relief, grateful she wouldn’t have to drag her little brother kicking and screaming, “Everything will be alright. We’ll get you taken care of, get this beacon running, and get Leo back here.”

"And then he's not allowed to leave me ever again." Harley pressed his face further into her stomach, “Not ever ever again.”

“Agreed.” Nyssa patted his shoulder and began to lead him away from the half-finished beacon, “You wanna punch him first, or should I?”

“We’ll rock paper scissors it later.” Harley yawned, “I’m kinda tired.”

“Eat, then nap.” Nyssa chuckled, “You’ll feel better.”

He ended up falling asleep halfway through his sandwich, and she carried him back to the cabin with unconcealed fondness. He murmured Leo’s name as she set him down in his bed, and Nyssa vowed to herself as she tucked him in that if Leo Valdez ever tried to leave them again, he’d have to deal with an entire cabin chasing after him.

**Author's Note:**

> Love these guys


End file.
